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Parmigiano Reggiano is a grana, a hard, granular Italian cheese that is cooked but not pressed, named after the producing areas of Parma and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. With a crumbly, flaky texture and flavors such as buttery, fruity, nutty, savory, and mildly sweet, it is widely described by chefs and connoisseurs as the "king of cheeses".
Parmigiano (or parmesan, a protected word in Europe), is simply the Italian adjective for having originated in Parma; the French form, parmesan, is widely used internationally, and in English. However, the term "parmesan" is also casually used as a common term for powdered cheese products and condiments intending to mimic true powdered Parmesan cheese, especially outside of Europe, often blended with additional Pecorino Romano, mainly in North America. More specifically, such cheeses (in their true forms), including Pecorino Romano, are known as grana and are generally served freshly crumbled rather than finely powdered and packaged for long shelf-life.
Production[]
Parmigiano Reggiano is made from raw cow's milk. Each day, the whole milk of the morning cows' milking is mixed with the naturally-skimmed milk of the previous evening's milking, resulting in a part-skim mixture. This milk is pumped into copper-lined vats (copper heats quickly and cools quickly, and is said to impart subtleties in taste). There are 1.100 litres of milk per vat, producing two cheeses, each. The curd, making up each "wheel" at this point, weighs around 45 kilograms, or approx. 100 pounds. The remaining whey in the vat was traditionally used to feed the pigs—from which Parma ham (prosciutto) is produced. The barns and living quarters of these animals are usually located in close proximity to the cheese production facilities.
The cheese is then put into a stainless steel round form and pulled tightly, with a spring-powered buckle, so the cheese retains it wheel shape. After a day or two, the buckle is released and a plastic belt—imprinted numerous times with the Parmigiano reggiano name, the plant's number, and month and year of production—is put around the cheese and the metal form is buckled tight again. The imprints take hold on the rind of the cheese in about a day, and the wheel is then put into a brine bath to absorb salt for 20 days. After brining, the wheels are then transferred to the plant's aging rooms, where they sit for 12 months. Each cheese is placed on wooden shelves—which can be 24 cheeses high by 90 cheeses long—, numbering about 4,000 total wheels per aisle. Each cheese and the shelf underneath it is then cleaned, robotically, each week. The cheese is also turned at this time.
At twelve months, the Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano inspects each and every cheese wheel. Each one is tested by a master grader whose only instruments are a hammer and sound. By tapping the wheel at various points, one can identify undesirable cracks or voids within the wheel. Those cheeses that pass the test are then heat branded on the rind with the consorzio's logo. Historically, cheeses that were not selected used to have their rinds remarked with lines (or the letter "x") all the way around, thus consumers knew they were not getting consorzio-approved Parmigiano Reggiano; unapproved cheeses are now simply stripped of all markings.
Traditionally, cows producing milk for Parmigiano Reggiano were to be fed only on grass or hay, naturally producing grass-fed milk. Only natural whey culture is allowed as a starter, together with calf rennet.[1]
The only other additive allowed is salt, which the cheese absorbs while being submerged for 20 days in brine tanks (saturated to near-total salinity with Mediterranean sea salt). The product is aged an average of two years. The cheese is produced daily, and can show a natural variability. True Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese has a complex fruity, nutty taste, with a slightly gritty texture.
The average Parmigiano Reggiano wheel is about 18—24 cm (7—9 in) high by 40—45 cm (16—18 in) in diameter, and weighs an average of 38 kg (84 lb).
Common uses of the cheese include being grated over pasta, stirred into soup and risotto, or even eaten in chunks with balsamic vinegar. It is a key ingredient in alfredo sauce and pesto.
History[]
According to legend, Parmigiano was created in the Middle Ages in Bibbiano, in the province of Reggio Emilia; production soon spread to the Parma and Modena areas. Historical documents show that, in the 13th-14th century, Parmigiano was already very similar to the cheeses produced today, suggesting that its origins can be traced far earlier.
Parmigiano was praised as early as 1348 in the writings of Boccaccio; in the Decameron, he speaks of a mountain made completely of the cheese to accompany macaroni and ravioli.
Samuel Pepys is reputed to have buried his Parmigiano during the Great Fire of London of 1666 to save it.
Use of the name Parmigiano reggiano[]
According to the European Union, the word parmesan is a food label protected by the law that can be legally used to refer exclusively to the Parmigiano Reggiano DOP cheese manufactured in a limited area in Northern Italy (See Protected designation of origin). Beyond Europe, local cheeses are manufactured and sold under the generic name "parmesan" in many countries, most notably in the United States.
The name is trademarked, and, in Italy, there is legal, exclusive control exercised over its production and sale by the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese consorzio (created by a governmental decree). There are strict criteria that each wheel must meet early-on in the aging process (when the cheese is still soft and creamy) to merit the official seal and be placed in storage for aging.
Parmigiano Reggiano has become an increasingly regulated product; in 1955, it became what is known as a certified name (not a brand name). The name "parmesan" (in its extra-European sense), however, has no such regulations. The European Union campaigns against the use of protected European food labels by producers outside the designated region of origin, which might eventually lead to dropping the word "parmesan" from cheese products originating outside the designated production region of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Other cheeses named "parmesan"[]
The Grana Padano is another Italian cheese very similar to Parmigiano Reggiano. Differences are:
- It is produced mainly in Lombardy; the name Padano derives from the River Po
- Cows can also be fed silage, not specifically grass and hay
- The milk contains slightly less fat
- Milk from several days' milking can be used
- It is aged for 15 months only
American parmesan differs from Parmigiano Reggiano in several ways:
- The cheese is aged for 10 months only.
- The curds for authentic Parmigiano Reggiano are cut into fragments the size of wheat grains, which is much finer than the fragments created in the manufacture of the American version of parmesan. The smaller curds drain more effectively.
- American parmesan is mechanically-pressed in order to expel excess moisture.
- Parmesan wheels in the United States average 11 kg (24 pounds). The size difference can greatly affect salt saturation during the brining process; Parmigiano Reggiano, on average, contains two-thirds less sodium chloride than the average parmesan.
Gourmands tend to view Grana Padano and American parmesan as inferior in quality to true Parmigiano Reggiano, mainly due to its difference in flavor and texture.
In popular culture[]
- In the American animated cartoon Loud House, in the episode "Appetite for Destruction", the Loud Family are at an Italian restaurant when Lily mysteriously goes into the Parmesan room and becomes more cranky than ever. Lynn Sr. and Rita think Lily wants new friends, and they learn that too much cheese can make you "cranky".
See also[]
- Reggianito, an Argentine cheese in the parmesan style
- List of Italian PDO cheeses
- List of Italian cheeses
- List of cheeses
- Parmo - an English delicacy labeled for now strictly historical reasons as having to do with parmesan cheese
Notes[]
- ↑ See Disciplinare di produzione, the section headed “STANDARD DI PRODUZIONE”, fourth paragraph.